Diddy trial recap: Cassie sobs on the stand as her testimony concludes after 4 days

Yahoo

19-05-2025

Editor's note: This page reflects the news from Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial on Friday, May 16. For the latest updates from Diddy's trial, read USA TODAY's live coverage for Monday, May 19.
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
After the first week of testimony Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial, Cassie's time on the stand has come to an end following harrowing testimony on the hip-hop mogul's alleged abuse.
Cross-examination in Combs' sweeping federal sex-crimes trial resumed in Manhattan court on May 16, with attorneys for the prosecution and the defense returning to clarify points of Casandra "Cassie" Ventura Fine's testimony. Combs' legal team grilled Ventura Fine on the timeline of the alleged rape she says Combs committed in 2018.
Ventura Fine's testimony ended in sobs as the singer recounted the "agency and autonomy" she would have had in her life if she never participated in a "freak off," dayslong sexual performances that federal prosecutors have accused Combs of orchestrating.
Combs dated Ventura Fine in the mid-2000s, and their relationship spanned a decade. The two became involved professionally and sexually when Ventura Fine was 19 and Combs was 36.
Despite Ventura Fine's allegations that Combs coerced her into participating in drug-fueled "freak-off" parties, Combs' attorneys on May 15 attempted to paint a picture that Cassie was in control of her situation. The defense showed emails and text messages from early in Combs and Ventura Fine's relationship, where they professed love for each other and she sought more attention from him.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September 2024 on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges.
Ventura Fine delivered a statement read by her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, outside the federal courthouse following the end of her emotional week of testimony.
"This week has been extremely challenging, but also remarkably empowering and healing for me," Ventura Fine's statement said. "I hope that my testimony has given strength and a voice to other survivors, and can help others who have suffered to speak up and also heal from the abuse and fear."
Ventura Fine continued: "For me, the more I heal, the more I can remember. And the more I can remember, the more I will never forget. I want to thank my family and my advocates for their unwavering support, and I'm grateful for all the kindness and encouragement that I have received."
Ventura Fine, who is visibly pregnant with her third child, concluded the statement with, "I'm glad to put this chapter of my life to rest. As I turn to focus on the conclusion of my pregnancy, I ask for privacy for me and for my growing family."
Danity Kane alum and Combs' former Diddy – Dirty Money collaborator Dawn Richard described witnessing Combs attack Ventura Fine as she was making eggs in a kitchen in Combs' Los Angeles home.
"He came downstairs screaming, belligerent," Richard said, noting Combs asked where his eggs were and yelled that Ventura Fine never gets anything right.
Combs grabbed the skillet Ventura Fine was cooking in and tried to hit her with it, Richard said. The skillet didn't seem to hit Ventura Fine "fully" because "she went into the fetal position," according to Richard. Ventura Fine was "literally" trying to hide her face and her head.
Combs grabbed Ventura Fine's hair and then dragged her upstairs, Richard said. Then, Richard heard glass breaking and yelling.
Combs later told Richard what she saw was passion and Ventura Fine was OK, Richard testified. "Where he comes from people go missing if they talk," Richard recalled Combs saying.
Richard was last to take the stand.
She told the court she was a singer and dancer and a member of Danity Kane. She was asked by the prosecution what she called Combs. "I called him Puff," Richard said.
Federal prosecutor Mitzi Steiner said, "I will call him Puff for clarity." Judge Arun Subramanian cut in, shaking his head as he said, "Ms. Steiner, let's call him Sean Combs for clarity."
After Ventura Fine, the prosecution brought Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Yasin Binda to the stand. Binda, who specializes in human-trafficking cases, was on the scene for Combs' Sept. 16 arrest at the Park Hyatt New York, where she photographed evidence in his room.
Among the items discovered were:
A plastic bag filled with Johnson & Johnson baby oil
Five bottles of baby oil and lubricant standing together on the floor of the bathtub (This was not all of the baby oil and lubricant they'd found, Binda confirmed.)
A Louis Vuitton bag with a bottle of clonazepam – a benzodiazepine that is used for anxiety and seizures – which was prescribed to Combs' alias, Frank Black
Two bottles of lubricant in the right nightstand drawer
A bottle of medication in the left nightstand with two clear plastic bags filled with a pink substance. One of the bags tested positive for ketamine, and the other had a mixture of MDMA and ketamine
A fanny pack hanging off the bed with $9,000 in cash
Cell phones belonging to Combs and Kristina "KK" Khorram, who has been described as Combs' "right hand"
Under questioning by Combs' lawyer Anna Estevao, Ventura Fine said she'd made a legal demand of the company that owned the since-shuttered InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles' Century City neighborhood.
She hasn't received any money yet, but she testified that she expects roughly "$10 million, maybe" after reaching the end of negotiations over the past month. IHG Hotels & Resorts declined to comment.
On redirect, the prosecution returned to the defense's earlier topic of Ventura Fine's financial situation in 2023.
Suing Combs in November 2023 had her feeling "overwhelmed," and she couldn't go forward with her planned tour, she said, explaining the lawsuit was her addressing the past the way she chose to, and it was a way to reclaim that part of her life.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson asked whether Ventura Fine would give back the $20 million settlement she received from Combs if it meant erasing her past "freak offs." Ventura Fine started tearing up and agreed, "I would give that money back if I never had to have 'freak offs.'"
As she started to sob, she continued, "I would have had agency and autonomy. I wouldn't have to work so hard to get it back."
Johnson then drove home the suffering Ventura Fine allegedly experienced at Combs' hands, asking how it felt to have Combs beat her during "freak offs" or to have an escort urinate in her mouth.
Through her tears, Ventura Fine assured, "You can continue. You can go on." After Johnson repeated her question, the singer replied: "Worthless. Just like dirt, like I didn't matter to him," she said. "That I was nothing, absolutely nothing."
Subramanian struck a portion of Ventura Fine's testimony when questioned by federal prosecutors about her and Combs' "freak offs."
Ventura Fine testified that Combs "took quite a bit of work calls during 'freak offs.'" When asked how often and how many times by prosecutors, Ventura Fine said "every time." Combs also canceled work meetings for "freak offs," but Ventura Fine did not unless she was told to.
After federal prosecutor Johnson asked why she couldn't cancel her meetings for "freak offs," Ventura Fine said it was because she had a whole other job. When Johnson asked what her whole other job was, Ventura Fine testified: "Basically a sex worker." When Combs' lawyer Estevao objected, the judge sustained the objection and struck the testimony, which means the jury cannot consider it.
When asked by Johnson if Ventura Fine believed Combs when he claimed he didn't remember hurting her, Ventura Fine said, "No, not every time." Johnson questioned why, and Ventura Fine responded: "Because I know him."
"There were times when he was pretty aware what he was doing," Ventura said. "It's just who he was." She added: "I had seen him be violent with other people." Ventura Fine said she knew the difference because she had been around it.
Ventura Fine and her husband Alex Fine's main income source was his job as a physical trainer during the summer and fall of 2023. The pair moved back in with her family in Connecticut after experiencing financial problems, though Ventura Fine clarified the move was not due to their financials.
In November 2023, she filed a civil lawsuit against Combs. Ventura Fine was preparing for a tour set to start later that year in Australia and New Zealand, but the defense noted she'd canceled the tour after settling the $20 million civil suit. "You didn't need it anymore. Is that right?" Combs' lawyer Estevao asked. Ventura Fine replied, "That wasn't the reason why."
Estevao pulled up a social media post from May 2024, after the InterContinental Hotel video showing Combs hitting, kicking and dragging her was released. On Instagram, Ventura Fine thanked her followers for the outpouring of support, and she ended the caption writing, "Domestic violence is the issue." Asked whether she still feels domestic violence is the issue, Ventura Fine replied "yeah," she does.
During cross-examination, Combs' legal team continued to zero in on Ventura Fine and the embattled ex-mogul's communications after their relationship ended.
The defense shared texts Combs sent to Ventura Fine over the course of 2019, beginning that May. "Sending you love and light, hope you're well," Combs wrote in one message. In another: "Congratulations, Cass. You're gonna make a beautiful mother. God bless." Another Combs text said: "What a difference a year makes. Sending love." Combs also wrote, "Congratulations. I know you're so happy. God bless, you deserve it."
On March 7, 2020, Combs wrote, "I'm so happy for you." In a text exchange, Combs and Cassie sent well wishes and mutual love to both of their families. Combs sent another text that said: "You were there for me through everything." Combs called her "the greatest woman in the world" and his best friend as well as "my ride or die always." Combs wrote he had been reflecting.
Ventura Fine had texted in response: "I wouldn't have been at this beautiful point in my life without having been with you." She added, "The things you said blew my mind a little bit."
On the stand, Ventura Fine said Combs had said all the things she had wanted to hear from him for a long time. In their text message conversation, Ventura Fine expressed hope that they could sit down and get some closure. "I'll always love you," Combs had texted. "We're honestly lucky to be alive. We went hard." He continued to write that God watched over them and that he's glad Cassie found her husband. "I send this message with all respect to your marriage," Combs had written.
As cross-examination came to a close, the jury was shown 2012 texts from Ventura Fine that indicated she did not want to continue "freak offs." "Wanna freak off one last time tonight?" Combs had written, to which she responded, "What?" He'd replied, "You don't know how to read?"
"I don't want to freak off for our last time. I want it to be the first time for the rest of our lives," she'd texted.
As the redirect began, prosecutors pulled up the same text conversation and highlighted another point in the same string where Ventura Fine discussed having a UTI. "I don't wanna do one last time. I don't want to at all," she'd written. The prosecution asked what she was referring to, and she said: "Freak offs."
Ventura Fine revealed that in 2024 she had gone to Willow House – an Arizona addiction treatment center – for rehab, where she had no phone as part of the facility's rules for her 45-day program.
She also revealed she has been taking buprenorphine for opiate addiction since 2022. Ventura Fine said she wrote her book after treatment, and that while she began writing while at Willow House, "It wasn't really an idea."
Ventura Fine confirmed that the center treats sex addiction, sexual compulsion and love addiction, but she was not treated for any of those during her stay. She said she received neurofeedback therapy, which involves putting an electrical device on her head. She said she "probably" did this five or six times, about once a week, while she was there, explaining she believed the therapy was meant "to help me with my trauma."
She also did EMDR therapy during her stay and said it was part of the trauma treatment to help her recount memories and process them. Some of the treatment involved reimagining a traumatic experience, which she likened to imagining walking out of a room if previously you were being beaten up in that room and couldn't leave.
In November 2018, when Diddy's ex Kim Porter, who is the mother of four of Combs' seven children, died unexpectedly from pneumonia, Ventura Fine flew to Georgia and attended her memorial service.
While there, Combs texted her asking why Ventura Fine left the service without saying goodbye. Ventura Fine responded, insisting that she did. "I know how crazy and painful all this is," Ventura Fine texted, but "you posted that Kim was your soulmate. What was the 11 years all about?"
The defense asked whether Ventura Fine found that "extremely hurtful" and she said "yes." Ventura Fine never saw Combs again after that. He tried to get in touch through mutual friends, but she rebuffed his advances.
As questioning continued, the defense tried to poke holes in the timeline of the Diddy's alleged rape of Cassie, as she noted in her November 2023 lawsuit. On Aug. 21, 2018, Combs texted Cassie, "I know I look bad to you. I didn't turn you on yesterday. I fell off."
"You saw Mr. Combs the day before this message?" Estevao asked Ventura. A few days after, she'd texted back, "I'm so heartbroken." Combs responded, "Me too. Have a good night."
The implication was that they had a breakup conversation within those few days. However, defense attorneys said that in a November 2023 conversation with prosecutors, Ventura Fine has recalled this incident occurred after Combs got home from Burning Man in September 2018.
In the interview, she described going to dinner with Combs before the alleged rape, saying that he was "acting strangely" and that he "seemed anxious."
"You told the prosecutors you didn't think Mr. Combs was in his right mind" because he wouldn't stop when she told him to, Estevao said. According to the defense, Ventura Fine told prosecutors in April 2025 that the rape occurred in August 2018, seemingly differing from what she told them a year and a half prior.
Asked about what she said in her civil suit about the rape, Ventura Fine testified that they had dinner at an Italian restaurant before the alleged rape. She said she didn't remember if she said he "forced" himself into her home in the lawsuit.
She was then asked if she wondered whether Combs was in a bipolar episode during the rape, and she confirmed that she did.
Combs' lawyer asked about her feelings for Combs in September 2018, with her saying, "There were still feelings there." As for her feelings for Combs now, she said, "I don't hate him," and "I have love for the past and what it was."
In 2018, Ventura Fine broke up with Combs, the same year she started dating now-husband.
During her cross-examination, she didn't confirm a specific date. She did confirm, though, that she had told Combs in the past that "it was over" despite eventually getting back together. Ventura Fine confirmed she and Combs still communicated somewhat after they broke up in 2018. "Can I not get a chance to get things right?" Combs texted. "It seems like you're blaming everything on me."
Ventura Fine said she needed to talk to her family because she needed their support and that he took care of her financially, but not in other ways. "I just don't trust anymore," Ventura Fine texted, "You wanted me to be a machine and forgive you every time."
In the break-up timeline discussion, Cassie said in a text referring to Combs' ex-girlfriend Gina Huynh, "That was the last shot, put the nail in the coffin" and that "she never went away" after seeing a photo of Huynh and Combs together, noting that Combs continued to get back with Huynh and cheat on Ventura Fine in past years.
In an exchange from 2018, Ventura Fine texted Combs: "How's yoga treating you? I assume now it's safe to date? Let me know." The comment was in reference to a yoga instructor he was allegedly dating, she said.
"I'm confused, what do you mean safe to date?" he texted back, claiming he was not seeing anyone and asking if she wanted to start dating again. "If you're in LA next week, maybe we can talk. I'm just trying to take care of myself," he wrote.
Combs said he didn't want to have a conversation where she broke up with him again, texting that he needed her to love him and he needed to hold her again, and she texted back that she loved him but didn't want to be just one of his girlfriends anymore.
"You don't say anything to the effect of 'you raped me.' You just say you want to keep peace," Estevao said, to which Ventura Fine replied: "Right."
Ventura Fine later confirmed on the stand that she had met up with Combs and had sex later in September of 2018, after the alleged rape. While they were having sex, Fine – her now husband – called, and she did not pick up, she said. Asked what he knew, she responded: "I don't know what he knew."
She then confirmed Fine punched a wall when he learned Combs allegedly raped her. "I believe so," she testified.
Dawn Richard, a former member of girl group Danity Kane, is expected to take the stand, according to NBC News. Richard worked with Combs beginning in the early 2000s, first on his MTV reality show "Making the Band," then with Danity Kane and later after the group disbanded with the musical trio Diddy – Dirty Money.
In 2024, Richard sued Combs for sexual assault and battery, sex trafficking, gender discrimination and copyright infringement. In the lawsuit, the former Combs-run Bad Boy Records artist accused him of inhumane working conditions, including deprivation of food and rest, false imprisonment and groping.
In the same lawsuit, Richard claimed she once witnessed Combs assault Ventura Fine.
Aubrey O'Day could testify in Sean 'Diddy' Combs federal sex-crimes trial
Richard's fellow Danity Kane alum Aubrey O'Day, once a rising star in Combs' orbit, has been subpoenaed to testify in his trial, according to a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly to USA TODAY.
Combs formed Danity Kane with Aundrea Fimbres, D. Woods, Shannon Bex, Richard and O'Day. The pop group disbanded and reunited several times since their formation, most notably with O'Day being removed from the group in 2008, although she later returned.
Later, O'Day became a fierce critic of her former boss and has publicly praised his ex-girlfriend Ventura Fine amid her testimony during the trial.
Jurors heard audio recorded by Ventura Fine at an unspecified date in which she threatens to have someone killed over videos they may have of a "freak off."
Talking on the phone to someone she said had a video of her, she said: "The video of me touching myself is important to my life… You have it? Why won't you show me."
"Where is it? You have it, or you don't have it?" she continued, asking the person who she was having sex with in the video and threatening to kill the person possessing the video. The argument continued to escalate, with Ventura Fine saying she will cut him up and put him in the dirt and claiming: "You don't understand. I will kill you because you're playing games with me. And it's not going to be blood on my hands. Someone else is going to do it."
Asked by the defense whether Combs supported her in making sure that "freak off" videos wouldn't get released, she replied: "I would say for the most part, yeah."
In another instance, Ventura Fine suspected that an escort named Jonathan Oddi was recording a "freak off." Ventura Fine said she told Combs about her suspicions, and Combs said, "I'll take care of it."
"Had a sex video of you been released, that would have been embarrassing, right?" Combs' lawyer Estevao, asked. "For sure," Ventura Fine replied.
In court, there were two instances discussed where Combs suspected Ventura Fine was cheating on him.
"He found out you were dancing with another person in the entertainment industry? Do you remember the incident where he suspected you of dancing with Chris Brown?" Estevao asked of a 2013 instance. Ventura Fine said she did not remember the incident, but she "was not dancing" with the singer.
Estevao showed an exhibit to help jog Ventura Fine's memory of a time when Combs allegedly took the "Me & U" singer's phone after he suspected her of dancing with Brown. After looking at the evidence, Ventura Fine said, "It says that in the message, but I don't really remember it."
Ventura Fine is close friends with Karrueche Tran, the actress and model who won a five-year restraining order against ex-boyfriend Brown in 2017.
Michael B. Jordan, Dawn Richard, Lauren London and Mike Myers named in Diddy trial. Here's why
There was another instance in August 2016 where Combs took Ventura Fine's phone when he suspected that she was dating someone else. Ventura Fine said, "At this point, we were not in a great place. I was dating someone else."
But one day, while she was in a car with Combs, he asked her to unlock her phone to call her mom. When she unlocked her phone, he grabbed it and fled the vehicle.
"There wasn't a fight. He was just gone," Ventura Fine said. "He was trying to get in it and read what was in my phone."
A couple hours later, Ventura's mom called police because her daughter returned home with no phone. Then, the phone was eventually returned later that day.
Estevao asked whether Combs went through Ventura Fine's phone and called someone. "I believe so. I wasn't there," Ventura Fine replied. "And that was a professional NFL player, right?" Estevao asked. "He was at the time. I don't know if he is now," Ventura Fine responded.
Ventura Fine explained that she didn't consider it cheating and that Combs got very jealous and possessive when she started dating other people. "I don't know that I would call it cheating. When you're not with someone, it's not cheating. But that's a technicality in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship," Ventura Fine said.
As the defense team returned to the 2016 hotel assault, they appeared intent on portraying Combs as heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
"You believe that Combs was blackout, right?" Comb's lawyer asked, reviewing text messages days after the incident in which the rapper wrote to Ventura Fine: "I'm so horny for you!!!" to which she responded, "You are? Why? What made you feel that way?" and "Not a good vibe."
See the full Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Cassie hotel video
On the stand, Ventura Fine said she found it "a little strange" that he would suggest having sex so shortly after the assault, adding sarcastically that her text about the vibe "makes sense."
"We need a different vibe from Friday," she wrote in a text, to which Combs responded: "I don't even wanna do that again." She replied, "Lol, true."
The court also saw photos Ventura Fine took of her face and enlarged lip after the incident. Estevao asked why Cassie took the photos, and Cassie responded that she didn't remember taking them.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs overdosed in 2012 and was hospitalized, Cassie Ventura testifies
In texts from December 2009 shown to the jury May 15, Ventura Fine told Combs that for her to "be more open with the things I do in bed," she needed to feel like "this is my husband and the only one who will see this side of me."
She went on to write that the alleged "freak offs" were starting to make her "feel a little dirty," adding that she was going "back and forth in my mind" about whether she wanted to do them.
Ventura Fine explained on the stand that the "freak offs" became "a very integral part" of their relationship early on, but she wanted to develop the relationship more. Combs' attorneys argued this showed that she put deep thought into the "freak offs" and felt comfortable expressing her concerns to her then-partner. "At that time," she clarified.
On May 15, Diddy's lawyers read texts between the former couple in the early years of their relationship, including extremely explicit messages, in court. In messages from August 2009, the couple discussed plans for a "freak off."
Combs wrote, "When do you want to freak off?" with Ventura Fine responding, "I'm always ready to freak off. Lolol." He wrote, "You tell me the day, you choose."
In more texts from 2009, the court saw sexually explicit messages between them. In one message, Ventura Fine expressed eagerness to have sex, with Combs responding, "I can't wait to watch you. I want you to get real hot." On another occasion, she texted Combs how she anticipated being positioned during sex.
The defense repeatedly sought to paint Ventura Fine as a jealous ex-partner on May 15. "This is about nature of relationships," attorney Marc Agnifilo said before she took the stand. "This is about jealousies."
The defense said Combs needed someone to take care of him, and Ventura Fine was one of the only people who saw the "real" him. "You knew how special you were to him," the defense said, to which Ventura Fine responded, "Sometimes."
Combs' lawyers noted that he lied to and cheated on Ventura Fine and let her down, but she "kept coming back to him for 11 years." She paused before responding, "I wouldn't use 'coming back.'"
Ventura Fine said she was in love with Combs, a "charismatic, big personality that everybody really loved," and described him as "sweet" and "caring" at times.
Cassie's harrowing testimony, the myth of 'mutual abuse' and what domestic violence really looks like
Also on May 15, Combs' attorneys asked Ventura Fine about Kim Porter, Combs' on-and-off partner from the 1990s into the 2000s. "Were you jealous of Ms. Porter?" Combs' lawyer Anna Estevao asked. Cassie replied on the stand, "I had some jealousy, yes."
Porter is the late model who died in 2018 of pneumonia, as well as the mother of four of Combs' seven children.
Jurors saw a series of texts from Cassie from 2013 in which she said she was concerned she was looking like a "side piece" and not Combs' partner. She was upset in the messages sent around the holidays, spurred by seeing Porter and Combs with their children and not being invited to family vacations and get-togethers.
Ventura Fine touched on a connection to actor Michael B. Jordan as Combs' attorneys scrutinized Cassie's other relationships, on May 15.
Ventura Fine said Combs suspected that she was in a relationship with the Emmy-nominated actor after the pair broke up in 2015, per Fox News. At the time of their split, the singer-actress was filming a movie in South Africa (Cassie starred in the musical drama "Honey 3: Dare to Dance," which was set in South Africa and reportedly concluded filming in December 2015.)
Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling suit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.
He was arrested in September 2024 and has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
Jurors were told in a questionnaire reviewed by USA TODAY, "The trial is expected to last about eight weeks."
The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.
USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental and/or substance use disorders, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's free and confidential treatment referral and information service at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It's available 24/7 in English and Spanish (TTY: 1-800-487-4889).
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
Contributing: USA TODAY staff
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy trial: Cassie testimony ends, Dawn Richard takes stand